pc catchall | chasma | nero

[yueshen]

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w0, wednesday

[yueshen]

[ well

there is a person passed out in the middle of the beach on this fine wednesday ]

[perfectdistance]

[Disce reaches the body first and Nero very reluctantly approaches...

Come on, don't be dead...]

[yueshen]

[ the good news is that the body is breathing!!! it's... xie lian? it looks like he might've just passed out.

what happened here. san lang is next to him, also passed out, in the form of a ferret. ]

w0 saturday

[yueshen]

[ after all of that mess, xie lian comes into the hotel kitchen. he's in his white robes again, now pristinely clean, and seems to be coming in for something...? he'snot expecting another person though, so - ]

Oh... Mr. Nero. My apologies, I don't mean to interrupt...

[perfectdistance]

[He's mid cleaning session, don't worry about it.]

Were ya lookin' for somethin'?

[yueshen]

...a cup of tea, perhaps.

[ it has been

a long evening. ]

w0: Sunday

[perfectdistance]

[It was a lot just to watch "justice", or whatever they want to call it, be done. Had to be worse actually doing it.

Nero peers into the open door, some tea and some snacks in hand.

If it's already open... He'll put it on the nightstand.]

[yueshen]

[ I HATE DW so we're gonna say he slept through this ok but also

later in the evening, xie lian will come find nero! wherever he is!! and poke his head into the room. knocking gently on the side of the door, he offers him a little smile and a bow of his head. ]

...Mr. Nero, were you the one who left things for me, earlier? That was very kind of you.

[perfectdistance]

[Oh DW, how cruel you can be.

He's at the hotel lobby, Disce curled up in his lap.]

It could've been anybody. You had a hell of a day.

w1: Wednesday

[perfectdistance]

[In the afternoon, Nero just has fish. Piles and piles of fish. His face and arms seem a bit bruised from whatever happened earlier in the day.

He looks up when XL walks in.]

How's it goin'?

[yueshen]

[ that is so many fish. xie lian is not bruised, but, he's holding his sword in its sheath and seems to be in a pretty good mood! when he sees nero, he opens his mouth to say something and instead says - ]

...Fish? [ wait ] I mean... that is a lot of fish! Hello, Mr. Nero!

w1, post trial

[yueshen]

[ what a long day! this was still frustrating and upsetting but slightly less personal this time, at least, so.

xie lian's coming into the solar towards the locked door, lifting his fist to knock on it - but, spotting someone else, he pauses, and then shakes his head, coming over instead. ]

Hello, Mr. Nero. How are you, after all of that...?

[perfectdistance]

[Disce's curled up in his lap and he's idly petting her, though there's certainly stress on his features.]

Personally? I didn't get attacked or injured.

But... I'm worried about what the fact he can't talk about why he did it means.

week 2, monday (1/2)

[yueshen]

[ well, surely no one is around xie lian at the moment, where he's standing at one of the canals, eyeing one of those pieces of memory glass. it's probably fine, if he picks this up, and no one sees it. right?


haha! ]

(2/2)

[yueshen]

[ the music that plays is decidedly gentle, overwash only with the pitter patter of soft rain.

there is a little shrine directly in your view. it's tucked in a shabby little area, a broken down building with a tiny altar and a sort of tacky, if lovingly carved statue of the crown prince of xian le standing on top of it. on close inspection, the most love and attention has been put into the face - the god's smile is gentle and his expression is warm. in his left hand is a sword, and his right - where usually rests an intricate flower made of gold and jewels - is a tiny, fresh white flower, still wet with morning dew. you haven't seen many of your shrines lately - you, the crown prince of xian le himself, the martial god. you stand with a red umbrella over your head, for a moment, out of the rain, unseen to mortals, and just watch.

you're pondering how lovely it is to see a fresh flower in a statue of yourself as an offering - how rare - when all of a sudden, the rain is interrupted by the sound of footsteps, and a young boy comes barging in.

he looks maybe twelve, or thirteen. his clothes are dirty and soaked with rain water -his face is covered in filthy bandages. the child is sticks and bones, and you watch, as he releases his clutched hands from his chest, smiling, and reveals whats in them - a brand new, fresh white flower. twice as beautiful as the one from before, white as snow, and glistening with the rain from outside.

you know this child. the one from mt taicang, all those years ago - and you watch, as he takes the flowers and swaps them out, brimming with pride, and your heart swells. this young boy follows your wishes as a god to a t - you beg your followers through the guoshi not to prostrate themselves before you but they always do - and this young boy does what he is supposed to, and he prays to you, and you just find yourself smiling.

that smile is interrupted a moment later by the sound of more footsteps pounding through the rain. a group of kids pass through you, all carrying umbrellas - they seem to spot this small child, praying at your shrine, circle back, and begin to jeer.

"Wow, wow, the ugly monster got kicked out again!"

"Hey, ugly monster, you sleeping in the shrine again tonight? Better watch out, that 'mom' of yours is gonna beat the living hell out of you when you get home!"

the boy whips around. fury lights up his face, and he raises his fists, broken out of his solemn moment of prayer. "I don't have a home! I don't have a mom! She's not my mom! Get out! Get out! Keep talking and I'm gonna beat the crap out of you!"

the boys continune to jeer - the dialogue is cut out by the music, but their intent to tease is obvious - and the little boy with the bandages snaps, lunging at one of them. a juvenile fight begins between them, as the rich, well dressed children who came to bully him start ganging up on the boy at your shrine, and you cannot watch this. you're not supposed to intervene in the actions of mortals, but you raise your hand.

out of nowhere, an invisible force knocks the bullying group to their feet. falling to the ground and not knowing why, becoming filthy with mud - this group of kids are still kids, and their happy, teasing laughter is replaced with wailing, as they all scramble to their feet and start running. you shake your head - you really aren't supposed to get involved - but, you can't help it, as you turn your face to the little boy from before.

during the brawl, the young boy's bandages were ripped off. you get a glance at his bruised face, and you watch, as he re-wraps his bandages and sits down at the statue's feet. the young boy's stomach growls; your heart swells again, and you pick up a piece of fruit sitting on your offering plate, that he must have left you. it looked dried out, but it was better than nothing - you toss it gently at the young boy, who startles, thinking he got hit with a rock, but, upon realization, he picks up the fruit, hesitantly, looks at it... and then puts it back on the offering plate. it seems he would rather starve. ​


at some point, while you're watching this young boy, your attendants appear, and ask you for a conversation. you respond to them, but your attention stays, and you feel that you can't just let this miserable, devoted creature stay here, miserable. you have to do something. he can't leave the shrine because of the rain, he can't eat.

you take the umbrella over your head, and you make it corporeal, and place it at the entrance of the shrine. it's crimson red, a beacon of brightness in the dreary, cold day, and you step back.

the boy freezes, and stares at it, shocked.

mu qing, your attendant, groans. "Your highness. You've done more than enough here. If you're too obvious, and he finds out, it would be troublesome." gods and mortals aren't supposed to interact, after all - mu qing is correct, and you open your mouth to reply, but you are interrupted.

"Your Highness! Is that you?!"

feng xin, your other attendant, chuckles. "This kid is quite clever. He figured it out."

mu qing eyes you. feng xin doesn't know that you already intervened once; mu qing is clever, though, and you don't look at him, taken with the young man's arrestingly bright gaze.

the little boy speaks up again, clutching the umbrella, closed again, to his chest. "If you're here, please, answer my one question!

as a god, xie lian has heard this a thousand times. countless pleas from followers - help me, save me, listen to me - should have numbed his ears, but, even now, he can't help but drop anything he's doing and listening. to help people, to save people, that is xie lian's way.

mu qing says, "your highness. leave it be." you ignore him.

the child takes a deep breath, and grits his teeth, clutching the umbrella with both hands.

"I'm suffering! Every day, I wish I'd die. Every day, I want to kill off everyone in this world, and then myself! I'm living in agony!"

some of the response of his retainers is drowned out by music. disbelief, if their faces rae anything to indicate - what kind of thirteen year old says stuff like that - but xie lian ignores them entirely.

to another, the suffering of others only looks like trivial problems.

the boy stares up at the statue. his eye becomes redder, and redder, like he's about to cry, but he goes to the statue and grabs at the bottom of the clay statue's robes, as if pulling on silk, and persists, voice agonized, desperate. suffering. "For what should I live for in this world?! What does it mean to live?"

there's no answer, at first. the boy drops his head - he was expecting nothing.

but suddenly, your mouth moves before you think of it, and out of nowhere, your voice rings through the shrine. ]

If you don't know how to live on anymore, then live for me.

[ there's a hush of utter silence. the boy's head snaps up; feng xin and mu qing gape at you, and you ignore them. your heart thuds against your ribcage, and you ignore them, because you see this child suffering and you will give him a reason to survive. ]

I have no answer to the question that you asked. [ because no one really does, do they. ] However, if you don't know the meaning of your life, then make me that meaning, and use me as your reason to live.

[ startled out of their stupor, both feng xin and mu qing look like they're going to explode, beside you -- they both reach out to smother your mouth, because you are absolutely not allowed to do this, but you don't care, and you shout out one last thing to this hopeless little boy who has had his entire life changed. ]

Thank you for the flower! It's beautiful; I like it very much!

w2, post trial!

[yueshen]

[ it looks like xie lian is out for a walk after all of that! he is doing a little better than he was after trial - it appears someone has healed some of his injuries.

when he spots someone else by the fountain, xie lian gives him a little bow, pressing his fist gently to his hand. ] Good evening, Mr. Nero. How are you holding up?

[perfectdistance]

[Nero's just not willing to be in the manor right now. He's tired of being indoors!]

Hmm... Wasn't convicted for a crime I didn't do. So there's that.

[He seems drained.]

w2, sunday!

[yueshen]

[ once nero is done cooking this delicious feast and everything is all cleaned up, xie lian is coming to find him! ]

Mr. Nero, can I ask something of you?

[perfectdistance]

[He can be found in the kitchens, Disce curled up on the counter.

After cooking, he seems a little settled.]

What's up?

w5 sunday... i miss my mira pcs

[yueshen]

[ after

all of that chaos, xie lian is in the kitchen. it's a quiet evening, and he's got an electric kettle in his hands, that he absolutely does not know how to use. it doesn't really matter - he's just kind of staring into the distance, holding it by the handle.

san lang is in rabbit form in a loaf on the counter, ears down, eyes closed. ]

[perfectdistance]

[Nero pads in silently, Disce following right after him.

He watches Xie Lian standing there with the kettle. There's a reason, Nero keeps his distance from people during this whole charade of a competition. People die. Nero chooses the past of least pain whenever he can.

But he can't just leave him there frozen in his thoughts.]

Want some tea?

w6: Monday

[perfectdistance]

[This is sure a big city.

It's way too much for Nero though, and he can be found in the park. Disce curled up in his lap as he tries to relax at least a little.

This place is loud in a way he isn't used to. Talking, yelling, crowds, the City of Rain has so many rules against so much of this. He has some worries that people are getting pick pocketed while they go outside.]

[yueshen]

[ this is such a mood

the people of xian le were never so loud; the people of the little village his family fled to certainly aren't. this place is coarse and brash and technologically advanced and crowded and... overwhelming, but, xie lian does seem to like it. soaking up the utter humanity of this place is good for him.

...but it is still very overwhelming.

he retreats to the sanctity of the park after a long day of exploring, and there, finds nero. xie lian brightens a little, and then smiles, coming to look at nero and bowing his head. ]

Good day, Mr. Nero.

[ san lang, ferret formed, is perched on his shoulder, and chitters very softly in disce's direction in greeting. ] ...Are you quite alright?

w6, post trial

[yueshen]

[ xie lian is here in the park, laying down with his upper half propped up on a familiar looking tiger, staring up at the sky with his hands folded on his chest.

the tiger lifts its head, looks at nero, and then resumes grooming a white ball of fur that looks like it might be san lang. ]

...Ah, hello, Mr. Nero...

[perfectdistance]

[Being upright is way too much work right now, Nero is taking a seat on the ground.]

That was the last one.